A shark attacked a snorkeler in Kihei this morning, prompting officials to close the beach.

The 61-year-old victim was snorkeling with another man about 200 yards offshore from 1790 Halama Street when a shark attacked him at 10:15 a.m., causing multiple lacerations to his lower left leg and thigh area, a Maui County news release said.

Officials said the size and type of shark were not immediately known, but that the victim said that the shark’s head was about two feet wide.

The victim was treated on shore and taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center.

Maui County Ocean Safety officers, Maui Fire Department personnel and officials from the Department of Land and Natural Resources closed the beach off to swimmers from Kamaole III to Waipuilani Park.

Officials posted warning signs. The county Air 1 helicopter was disptached to fly over the area and Ocean Safety were to patrol the waters via jet ski.

The area will remain closed and reevaluated Saturday morning. If there are no additional confirmed shark sightings, the area will likely be reopened at 11 a.m. Saturday, the county said.

A 61-year-old Oregon man is recovering after surviving a shark attack in Hawaii. Thomas Kennedy was snorkeling with some friends about 200 yards offshore in Maui when a shark got the better of him. It clamped down on Kennedy’s left leg, but he was able to break free.

With the help of his friends, Kennedy was brought back to shore where lifeguards treated him before he was rushed to the hospital. Officials say he’s lucky to be alive.

Now the question that remains, for Kennedy at least, is what kind of shark bit him? Kennedy surmised, “Based on my estimate of the size of the head, the coloration and the shape, and I’m certainly not an expert … but their guess is it was a tiger shark.”